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Gone Home: Gender in Narrative and Digital Space

“The basic feminine impulse is to gather, to put together, to construct: the basic masculine impulse is to scatter, to disseminate, to destroy” is Charlotte Perkins Gilman theory on gender behavior (Fullertone). The rise of indie games allowed alternative types of digital spaces and narrative to target the gender overlooked by mainstream games: woman gamers. Rather than simply relying on the formula to successfully entice Western Cartesian males with a fantastical adventure or warfare competitive environment, Gone Home stimulates critical thinking and challenges the limitations of these mainstream games. By providing an alternative digital space, new type of interaction and gameplay, and a more insightful narrative, independent games appeals to an inclusive audience.
The traditional digital spaces for created for male players are organizational structures, “a series of levels which escalate in difficulty” whereas women, “need an opportunity to explore and manifest their own indigenous fantasy play space” (Fullertone). In Gone Home, the challenge is not to defeat enemies or demonstration of skilled gameplay to level up, but instead “players discovers, uncover and reveal plot elements as they progress through the game” and are rewarded with clues to solve the mystery (Fullertone). The limited digital space enables the player to concentrate on the content of the narrative or message rather than being distracted by repetitive actions (fighting or competing) and over stimulating graphics typical of mainstream videogames. Research states that “women and girls resonate with games that have storylines and character development” (Fullertone). Even though the exploration is limited to the interior of the house, interaction with objects is almost limitless, and the complexity of secret passages, abundant rooms and hauntings add intrigue and challenge to the game.
There are several female protagonists in Literature, for example “Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Secret Garden and Mary Poppins, among others, offer a cast of female heroines who open portals to and explore magical, alternative” worlds which can be seen as allegory for women escaping the domestic space (Fullertone). Traditional mainstream games unfortunately do not offer alterative game spaces and reflective narratives but indie games such as Gone Home, the heroine is encouraged to explore the domestic space and unveil the secrecy. In the game world though there are fewer female protagonists, and almost none that are not created as “Barbie kicking butt” but rather as Lara Croft to appeal to the male fantasy. In Gone Home, the protagonist and secondary character are both regular modern women that female gamers can relate easily to. This relatability becomes a connection with Sam especially, who is metaphorically kicking the butt of the constraints of domestic space especially under an almost puritanical religious household. The reason for this more emotional game play is that “Butt kicking is not what many girls and women have in mind as a form of empowerment through play” but rather complex characters and a detailed and coherent narrative (Fullertone). The realistic situation and characterizations in games are what causes relatability and a more emotional connection possible with indie games such as Gone Home.
Independent games such as Gone Home provide alternative gameplay, narrative structure and digital space than those to the generic mainstream videogame by creating innovative and inclusive games. This particular game experimented with generate awareness amongst gamers about greater issues which trouble modern society: gender, sexuality, abuse and relationship.
Jennifer Annunzii